Steel company lays off 500 employees in Texas, BlythevilleBLYTHEVILL (AP) — A steel company that caters to the energy industry is laying off 500 employees at facilities in Conroe, Texas, and at Blytheville. Television station KAIT in Jonesboro reported that Tenaris Hickman laid off the workers Friday. It cited developments with the "energy industry's present circumstances." Oil prices have fallen for months and are at a five-year low. Tenaris said in a statement that the company is adjusting producti...

Russellville City Council tables talks on Alliance agreement A primary reason the Russellville City Council called a special meeting Tuesday was to discuss its agreement with the Arkansas Valley Alliance for Economic Development (AVAED). However, a Pulaski County Circuit Judge’s ruling may have put a temporary halt to economic development funding — in Russellville and most likely throughout Arkansas. After discussing Monday’s ruling that stated Little Rock and North Little Rock must stop paying their re...

Local gas dips below $2Arkansas River Valley residents are reaping the benefits of the lowest gas prices in nearly six years. With gas prices less than $2 in Russellville, local gas stations are seeing an increase in sales. As of Friday afternoon, Wal-Mart and Kroger recorded the lowest price in Russellville at $1.93, while Shell, Flying J, Pilot and Phillips 66 all recorded $1.99 per gallon. Mark Fletcher, owner of Russellville-based Fletcher Oil Company Inc., whic...

SWEPCO withdraws plans for $116 million power line LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Southwestern Electric Power Co. says it is withdrawing its application to build a 50-mile-long, high-voltage power line through northwest Arkansas. The Louisiana-based company says it withdrew its application for state regulatory approval of the $116 million power line on Tuesday. In a statement, the company says the Southwest Power Pool had notified it that the project was no longer needed due to lower demand and the cancel...

Eaton presides over last meeting as mayor Russellville Mayor Bill Eaton and Aldermen Martin Irwin and Randy Horton were recognized during the last City Council meeting of 2014 on Thursday night at City Hall. And it was a special night for more than those occasions. Eaton, who served as alderman before being elected mayor in 2011, not only thanked the city’s employees and the community for their support the last four years, but pointed out he “married the most wonderful woman 48 years ...

Russellville aldermen to meet with Alliance membersThe Russellville City Council approved the 2015 General Fund and Special Funds budgets Thursday night, with the promise aldermen will call a special meeting with members of the Arkansas Valley Alliance for Economic Development (AVAED) to discuss the city’s contribution to the organization. Finance Committee chairman and Mayor-elect Randy Horton amended his motion to pass the Special Funds budget with the exception of items regarding Alliance f...

Sanitizer plant set for Fort Smith FORT SMITH (AP) — A company that makes a key component of sanitizers says it will build a pilot production facility in Fort Smith and eventually put its company headquarters there. TiFiber Inc. says the move could create up to 100 jobs by 2019. Production would begin next year to meet Food and Drug Administration certification, then expand into significant production in 2017. The Southwest Times Record newspaper reported Thursday that TiFiber ...

Russellville City Council OKs stipend for employeesThe Russellville City Council approved an end-of-year stipend for all full-time employees totaling $178,273.75 and will consider a cost-of-living increase in May of next year. After a Finance Committee meeting that lasted nearly an hour and a half, aldermen asked Finance Director Jerry McKaughan about the possibilities of giving employees a 2.5 percent raise instead of a stipend. Mayor Bill Eaton said he and McKaughan agreed that if raises wer...

Model Medicaid experiment in jeopardy LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas became the first Southern state to expand its Medicaid program in a way that many Republicans found acceptable. The state bought private insurance for low-income people instead of adding them to the rolls of the Medicaid system, which GOP lawmakers considered bloated and inefficient. Now Arkansas could be on the brink of another distinction: becoming the first to abandon its Medicaid expansion after giving coverage ...

Sony cancels 'The Interview' Dec. 25 release NEW YORK (AP) — Under the threat of terrorist attacks from hackers and with the nation's largest multiplex chains pulling the film from its screens, Sony Pictures Entertainment took the unprecedented step of canceling the Dec. 25 release of the "The Interview." The cancellation, announced Wednesday, was a startling blow to the Hollywood studio that has been shaken by hacker leaks and intimidations over the last several weeks by an anonymous gr...

Planning a home remodel that actually pays offThere was a time when contractors building McMansion-style home additions or Michelin-worthy kitchens were a regular sight in many neighborhoods – until around 2006, when the Great Recession began to take hold. Here's the good news: home improvements are starting to add value in a rising housing market. Here's the bad news: you have to be very careful about the renovation or remodeling projects you select to avoid over-stretching your budget. ...

Bass Pro to acquire Ranger Boats SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Bass Pro of Missouri plans to acquire the Arkansas company that manufactures well-known bass boats. Bass Pro Group announced the deal Thursday to acquire Fish Holdings LLS, which manufactures Ranger, Stratos and Triton boats. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Springfield News-Leader reported Fishing Holdings will continue to operate independently at its headquarters in Flippin, Arkansas. The deal must still ...

Farm Bureau re-elects Veach as president HOT SPRINGS (AP) — Arkansas Farm Bureau members have re-elected Randy Veach as president and Rich Hillman as vice president. Members also re-elected five board members and selected two new board members on Friday, the final day of the organization's annual convention in Hot Springs. Veach is a cotton, soybean, rice, wheat, corn and milo farmer near Manila and will begin a seventh term as president of the state Farm Bureau. Hillman is from Carl...

Arkansas to get $60,000 in Sirius XM settlement LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas will receive $60,178 from Sirius XM Radio Inc. in a national settlement to resolve complaints about misleading advertising and billing practices. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel says Arkansas customers who haven't filed a complaint have 150 days to file one to be considered for restitution. Sirius XM agreed to pay a total of $3.8 million to 45 states and the District of Columbia. The restitution to consumers covers...

Bill Clinton touts impact of his library LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton said he always wanted his library and museum to show visitors that elections have consequences and encourage them to get involved, a vision he reflected on Thursday as he touted the 10-year-old center as a model for how people can work together to improve the economy. Speaking at the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce's annual meeting, the 42nd president and former Arkansas governor said h...

Judge won't OK Whirlpool lawsuit as class-action FORT SMITH (AP) — A federal judge says he won't certify a complaint against Whirlpool Corp. as a class-action lawsuit because he is not sure whether residents of a polluted Arkansas neighborhood or the company is the driving force behind it. The Southwest Times Record reported Thursday that U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes III rejected a joint motion seeking class-action status and approval of a proposed settlement. "It seems the parties have o...

Noranda Aluminum announces layoffs in Newport NEWPORT (AP) — Officials with an aluminum plant in Newport say 38 employees will be laid off. Noranda Aluminum Vice President John Parker said the layoffs will take place by Monday and account for about 40 percent of the plant's workforce. Parker said the company is trying to "match production with demand." He said the rolled aluminum industry faces increased competition from imports. The plant is one of three owned by Tennessee-based Noranda....